St Helena: My trip on the inaugural commercial flight

Our owner and managing director, Colin Dilland, was lucky enough to attend the inaugural flight to St Helena on the 14th October. This is what he had to say about his experience:

It’s not often you get to say that you were on a highly publicised, inaugural flight to an exotic location, but today I get to boast about this fact! I have just had the most incredible past weekend, being a guest on the first ever commercial flight to St Helena, and spending a few extraordinary days on the island.

Until recently, the island was only accessible via a five-day boat trip on board the RMS St Helena, which travels from Cape Town twice a month. This past weekend they introduced commercial flights to the island for the first time. The flight takes roughly six hours from Jo’burg and includes a short stop in Windhoek to refuel.

The airport was built at a rather large expense by the British tax payers, and there were a few issues surrounding the location of where its runway would be built. The most sensible place for it to be situated was in the Deadwood valley, but unfortunately there were endangered wild birds living in the area. Instead, the runway was erected along a group of mountains by the sea. The runway covers two kilometres and is designed to take large aircraft, but there is an incredible amount of strong wind due to its position next to the ocean. Thankfully, Airlink and the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer have successfully managed to fly an E190 which appears perfect for the conditions.

Some of the reports in the press have described St Helena’s airport as ‘one of the most useless airports’, but this could not be more wrong. Prior to this past weekend’s first commercial flight, seven medical evacuations have taken place, and three lives have been saved, one of whom was a newborn baby.

St Helena is just spectacular. The island is roughly 120 km² in size with a small population of only 4,700 people. The weather is idyllic, with a semi-tropical climate and a year-round temperature in the mid-20’s C. It reminded me a bit of Réunion Island – where I visited some years ago – with its massive cliffs and lofty mountains. Being a Department of France, Réunion was completely French, from its road signs to its cars. St Helena was exactly the same principle, but everything was British! It felt just like being back home in England. Walking through the island’s capital, Jamestown, was like being in Cornwall, and reminded me so much of Hugh Town on St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly.

The trip was a massive success and I am pleased to say that we are now offering holidays to the island. The flights occur on a weekly basis every Saturday, so we will be putting together a full 7-day package that includes flights from Jo’burg or Cape Town, four full days of activities, and 2-day’s car hire so you can also explore St Helena at your own leisure.

It was such a privilege to be involved in this momentous occasion, and I would like to thank everyone who made the welcoming on St Helena such a warm and friendly one. I can’t wait to return again someday for yet another extraordinary experience.

Cassidy Pautz is the Social Media and Content Manager for East Cape Tours. She studied in Port Elizabeth, where she received her BA Degree in Media, Communication and Culture. When she doesn't have a glass of wine in her hand or her nose in a book, you'll find her in the kitchen, cooking up a storm and presumably making a mess.